The land at the northeast corner of Shepherd Dr. and Bissonnet St. (not far down the street from closing-this-weekend Kay’s Lounge) has been sold to an entity using the La Porte corporate address of traditionally freeway-hugging Gringo’s Mexican Kitchen. The mid-1980s convenience store (formerly a Sunrise Grocery) and its 0.35 acre property were put on the market at the start of the summer; the sale closed a little over 2 weeks ago. Word through the NextDoor grapevine is that the building won’t be a Gringo’s, but might be replaced with a 3-story retail-office-space combo once the convenience store’s lease runs out around Halloween.
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Photos:  Barbie S. (top), Martha D. (2nd), Swamplot inbox (3rd)
2132 Bissonnet
Sad days ahead. Where am I going to get my Cheetos Fire Popcorn. Seriously though, Archie and the guys running the place were fantastic. It was the local Cheers, where Archie knew everyone’s name.
There is a lot of talk on the NextDoor board for the area about hopes that the downstairs retail be a small grocer. I hope that the buyers are engaging with Archie and at least entertaining the idea of bringing him back to run such a store. A cleaner, higher quality C-store would do really well here. Archie was already doing great with his Texas beer section, I think a small grocer, with an expanded wine and beer section would kill on that corner. No need for gas, etc.
I am very interested in seeing what the COH parking requirements are for a new build and how that impacts the final space. Given the 1-2 stories of offices, even with the owners living around the corner, will need parking. Couple that with the requirements for the retail, it seems like a major driver of the design for the space.